A Moment Alone
by Mistressdickens
Summary: Spoilers for season 6 ep 7: A certain sofa moment and what might have happened had Thomas not interrupted their peace.


**A/N: Now that cooking-gate is over, my muse has returned, showering rainbows and puppies in her wake. This is inspired by that sofa moment in S6 E7, and is how it would have played out, had Thomas not interrupted.**

Mrs Carson often wondered what the abbey would feel like when it was completely bereft of people. Even when the family had gone to London for the season, there were still maids bustling about cleaning the place to within an inch of its life under her watchful eye. Today though, with the family gone, half the servants off supporting Daisy and Mr Molesley, and the others who knew where, the place fairly echoed.

She got up from her desk, closing the ledger firmly. She wasn't quite in the mood to concentrate, and why indeed should she when everyone else was enjoying their free time. What she really fancied was a cup of tea with her husband, and so she moved down the corridor to his pantry. Only he wasn't there.

The room gave no clue as to his whereabouts, but the silence of the downstairs suggested a possible upstairs location and she guessed he was making checks for anything out of order. Not that there would be. Shaking her head slightly, she climbed the stairs in search of her errant butler.

She didn't need to look for long, locating him in the library. She paused in the doorway, unnoticed by him, and smiled fondly. He was in full butler stance, even though there was no one who needed him to perform his duties, and in truth he was looking a little out of place. She determined to make him relax; he'd been so tightly wound since his Lordship's scare and although the man was clearly on the mend, Charles still appeared preoccupied by the event.

She bustled into the room. 'Funny when the house is empty above decks and below.'

'All the more reason to be vigilant' he answered, confirming her thoughts that he was allowing his concerns to play too big a role.

'Let's sit down' she said, moving towards one of the plush red sofas. Hearing his bluster behind her, she chivvied him with an almost impatient 'oh, just for a moment!' before sitting down.

The sofa was lower than she'd remembered, so her descent wasn't exactly graceful, but he hardly noticed as he wrestled with his sense of propriety before giving up the fight and sinking down next to her.

She smiled and encouraged him to relax, speaking of inconsequential things, but they still sat upright. She almost rolled her eyes at him when he made another patronising remark about her cooking skills, but then recalled the plan Mrs Patmore had suggested and simply soothed his qualms.

A moment's pause in the conversation had her wondering if the brief closeness in their place of work was at an end, but then the bounce of the sofa drew her attention and he surprised her by moving back into the depths of it, his raised eyebrow a challenge to her. She didn't need any more encouragement and followed his example. He surprised her still further by wrapping his left arm about her shoulder and pulling her slightly, so she shuffled still closer to him. His other hand found her right hand and squeezed.

'If James or Alfred could see me now' she chuckled. 'I gave them such a telling off when I caught them sitting in the drawing room!'

He hummed in response and brought her hand up to his lips and kissed her palm.

'Speaking of James' she said, before he advanced further and made her forget her thoughts. 'I think you'd do well to be a little easier on Mr Barrow. I get the feeling he cares more about this place than we all realise.'

A rumbled 'hmmm' was all she received by way of reply as he placed another kiss to her palm before moving to their tiny sliver of her wrist that was visible below the cuff of her dress. She shifted slightly, moving cushions so they supported her back, and turned to face him fully, so she could look into his eyes.

'Seriously Charles. If Mr Molesley does well in that exam of his, and Andrew decided to go in with Mr Mason, he might just come in handy should we want to retire. Something which I'm finally allowing myself to contemplate.'

She placed her left hand on his cheek and smiled as he leaned into it, and then spoke.

'After all we have been through with Mr Barrow, I find it highly improbable that he should have turned over such a giant new lead. You know how he acted when we were away.'

'Perhaps, but even a leopard can change some of its spots.'

They had spoked this quietly, but their voices still carried, and, unbeknownst to them, every word had been heard by the very subject of their conversation. Thomas had returned from the impromptu picnic feeling a little deflated now that he could no longer be of use to Andy, even though he was glad the man would get professional help. He had planned to make his presence known to his superiors, but hearing Mrs Carson's words, he thought better of it, and quietly made his way back to the servant's hall and the jobs column of the Yorkshire Post.

Unaware of this, the Carsons remained nestled on the sofa. Elsie had not removed her hand from her husband's check, but his arm had slipped from her shoulder to wind about her waist, drawing her closer, so that their knees slotted together like some life size jigsaw puzzle.

'Are you happy Elsie?'

She frowned slightly at his question before her smile returned. The fingers stroking his face slipped southwards slightly, so that she fiddled with his collar before caressing the knot of his tie, her little finger moving against his shirt so that he felt the heat of her right above his collar bone.

'Of course I am. Why would you ask?'

'Because you mentioned retirement' he said, before he kissed her cheek.

'I didn't mean right this second Charles' she whispered into his ear, for he had not moved his head after that kiss. 'But I'd like to think that when we do decide it's time to leave service, we'll have the energy to do the things we like and at our own pace.'

She felt, as well as heard, his answering chuckle run through his body.

'Did you have anything in mind Mrs Carson?' he asked, as his hand encircling her waist drew small circles over her hip, whilst his other found a place to rest at the top of her thigh.

She drew back slightly, a wide smile breaking over her face even as she lost herself in the dark desire of his eyes.

'Oh yes' she whispered, and drew him forward with a tiny tug on his tie, meeting his welcoming mouth with her own. She delighted in the feel of his lips on hers and the sigh which escaped her as his tongue flickered in and out of her mouth was proof of the total freedom she felt in his arms.

He broke away and moved his lips to her neck just below her ear. He had told her on their honeymoon how much he liked her new hair style because it allowed for just these type of attentions, and she had blushingly admitted to changing it in the hope he would kiss her that way after their engagement. It had taken longer than she would have wished, but there was no faulting his attempts to make up for lost time now.

She leant back against the sofa, her fingers twining in the hair at the base of his neck, and sighed again as his teeth nipped at her earlobe, before his lips moved along her jaw and then reclaimed her lips. As she had moved back, he was compelled to lean towards her more, the new position causing the kiss to deepen and intensify. It was only when she felt his hand on her calf underneath her dress, that her sudden gasp brought them both back to their surroundings. Their eyes flew open as he drew back, and they both breathed heavily as they read the desire in each other's face.

'Perhaps Mr Carson, we should go and have a cup of tea and try to act like the serious heads of the household everyone else supposes us to be.'

A low 'indeed' was all reply she got, but as he helped her from the sofa, he leaned towards her and whispered 'until tonight, Mrs Carson' before stalking grandly out of the room.

She blushed at his insinuation and firmly reminded herself of Mrs Patmore's plan. She only hoped he would still feel the same way that evening.

CECECECE

Seeing him dash about the kitchen had warmed her heart, even as it had amused her to watch, knowing he now understood her own trials. When he had fallen asleep at the table, however, she knew there would be no resumption of those heady moments in the library. He really was exhausted.

She made a feeble attempt to reignite his passion when they went upstairs to bed. Using her 'injury' as an excuse, she persuaded him to unbutton her dress and unlace her corset, but all she received for her efforts was an absentminded kiss to her shoulder, and by the time she had returned from brushing her teeth, he was already in bed, asleep and snoring slightly.

She looked down at him, her heart melting anew a she regarded the man who loved her enough to cook for her, even though he could have quite easily demanded they return to the abbey for their dinner. She drew back the covers and slipped beneath them. Lying on her side, she reached over and brushed back the errant curls which tumbled over his brow, displaced by the heat of the oven, and placed a light kiss to his nose. Snuggling close to his sleeping form, Elsie Carson wrapped an arm about her husband's torso and, smiling, fell asleep.

 **A/N: I honestly don't think Thomas meant the interruption maliciously. He just wanted to be included and pitched the teasing all wrong. Someone mentioned on tumblr about Carson having to help his wife out of her clothes, and whilst I love that idea, I just don't think he'd have been able to stay awake long enough to do anything. The poor, crumble-mumbling-in-his-sleep, lamb. Hooray for the return of the muse – a review or two would cheer her up even more!**


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